2009 Arizona Diamondbacks Odds & Predictions

After tying for dead last in the NL West in 2006, the Diamondbacks improved 14 games in 2007 to capture the division. Arizona disappointed in 2008 with a second place finish in the division after getting off to a great start. In fact, Arizona became the first team since division play was instituted not to win its division when leading at the end of April by at least five games. Anything other than a division title will be considered a disappointing season for the snakes.  The Arizona Diamondbacks are listed at +1800 to win the 2009 World Series.

Pitching
Much of Arizona’s success is built around one of the best starting pitching rotations in baseball led by the dynamic one-two punch of Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. Webb is a perennial Cy Young guy who has finished either first or second in the last three Cy Young Award votes. His sinker is the nastiest in the game and he continues to show great durability. Webb went 22-7 last season with a 3.30 ERA. His partner in crime is Dan Haren. The former A’s ace posted a career high in wins with 16 last year and also boasted a 3.33 ERA. The rest of the rotation is a nice complementary mix. Southpaw Doug Davis utilizes a good change up and has won at least 10 games each of the last four seasons. The Diamondbacks will likely count on former No. 1 draft pick Max Scherzer to replace Randy Johnson and Yusmeiro Petit is among the top candidates to take the No. 5 spot.

Chad Qualls claimed the closer job last September and will likely get the ball in the ninth again this season. He converted seven straight save opportunities to close out the season. He is a ground ball specialist and that is a good thing to be late in games when the homerun is the biggest threat to beat you. Tony Pena is a fine setup man with 53 holds the last two years as well.

Lineup
Shortstop Stephen Drew is the big stick for the Snakes. He led Arizona in hits with 178 and 21 of those were round trippers. Expect his RBI numbers to jump from 67 to at least the mid-80’s as he is expected to bat in a more productive spot in the order. Center fielder Chris Young is a doubles machine, hitting 42 of them last season. He also jacked 22 long balls and added 85 RBIs. Young has good speed and could easily steal more than 14 bases if the Snakes looked to run a little more. Conor Jackson joins Young in the pasture. He was second on the team in hits with 162 and added 75 RBIs. Look for Justin Upton to take right field. The youngster has ridiculous potential, hitting 15 homeruns in just 108 games after getting called up from AAA Tuscon. Third baseman Mark Reynolds swings a mighty bat, belting 28 long balls and adding 97 RBIs, but he led the bigs in both strikeouts and errors. Look for second baseman Felipe Lopez, first baseman Chad Tracy, and catcher Chris Snyder to round out the lineup.

Prediction: 1st Place NL West
Arizona is young and it is already the best team in the NL West as  I believe LA lost two much starting pitching to compete this year.  This could be the start of a run of division titles for the Snakes as long as their one-two punch of Webb and Haren can stay healthy, and that has not been a problem with both pitchers not missing a start in 2008. The Arizona Diamondbacks are listed at +140 to win the NL West.

Do your MLB betting on Jimmy Boyd’s expert baseball picks this season for the most winners against the MLB odds.

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